Hug an Australian?!!

There is a long list of 'days' for April 26th. And given it's Saturday, and for the first time in weeks (feels likes months) the sun is shining in Vancouver - so I only want to celebrate the sun. The choices for today are:

- Bob Willis Day
- Hug an Australian Day
- International Marconi Day
- Rebuilding Day
- Richter Scale Day
- World Tai Chi & Qigong Day

So who is this Bob Willis anyway? Bob Willis is the "man that added soul and jazz to country." (The Daily Texan) and in Turkey, Texas - this year marks the 37th annual Bob Willis Day with music, food and festivals. Looks like fun. That works on a sunny day in April. Maybe I could go swing dancing?

International Marconi Day is the celebration of Giuglemo Marconi - and all I can hear is Jefferson Starship's "We Built This City" - and wondering if Marconi really did play the mamba? So on a beautiful day like today, I could sit in the sun, "listening to the radio", and celebrate the brilliance of Marconi. That could work on a sunny April day.

National Rebuilding Day is a day to revitalize communities and preserve affordable home-ownership. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Rebuilding Day. It would be something that the City of Vancouver could buy in to... create some pride in ownership and community involvement for some of the city's lower income neighbourhoods.

Not necessarily a good tie in to Richter Scale Day... the birthday of Charles F. Richter. Richter invented the earthquake magnitude scale used to compare the size of the earths rock and roll. Let's hope the earth doesn't celebrate this one with us today. Especially after rebuilding.

So what will I do today to celebrate? Know any Aussies?

Safety Goggles and STD's

So April is full of Awareness Month's.....

• Cancer Month,
• Autism Month,
• Alcohol Awareness Month,
• Counseling Awareness Month,
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month,
• National Donate Life Month
• Child Abuse Prevention Month
• Donate Life Month
• Humor Month
• Minority Health & Health Disparities Month
• Occupational Therapy Month
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month
• Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month
• National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month,
• Sports Eye Safety Month and
  
• STD Awareness Month.

So where do I start? Some of these 'awareness months' are ones we know about. The Cancer charities sell daffodils in April promoting donations for cancer awareness, treatment and research. Having been affected by cancer many times over (I lost my grandfather to lung cancer, close friends of the family, I've had my own scares, and most recently lost a vibrant friend to cancer only a month after she was diagnosed), I have been 'aware' of April being Cancer month most of my life.

Many families are increasingly being affected by Autism in recent years. There are many issues we should all be aware of when you have a family member with autism. The Vancouver School Board recently announced (in April of course) that they will be funding more programs for students with Autism. Bravo!

The other issues we are apparently meant to be aware of in April are too critical to only think about them one month out of the year. Child abuse happens year round. I read a statistic early in the month (now I know why) that a child is abused in North America every 10 seconds. Minority health and health disparities issues are something we should be ashamed of every month. I would hope that who might consider donating an organ - or blood - don't wait for Donate Life Month. After all - we can sign the backs of our drivers licenses or register to be a donor any day of the year.

Now, as for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness.. I certainly became aware at the movies this week. The guy in front could have been the poster child. Would that be a scratch and sniff?

I do find it peculiar that this is sarcoidosis month... on the 8th of April, a friend was in for a minor bit of surgery to have a sarcoid removed from her ass. The butt jokes were bad, but (I said but) there seems to be a theme to April. Is it a coincidence that it is Alcohol Awareness Month and Counseling Awareness Month? Is it not enough to be aware of liquor? Do I need counseling too? Of course I have a few other questions about the nature of the Awareness Month. Who comes up with them? And do they consult at all?

April is indeed Sports Eye Safety Month. It is important that when engaged in sport, one wears eye protection. April is also STDs Awareness Month. So... the moral of the story (and I'm not just saying this because it is also National Humour Month), if there is a penis coming at you... protect yourself. Be sure you wear your goggles!

No Part of this Post is an Infringement

Though it may be an infringement on my sensibilities...

Today is Administrative Professionals Day. I don't administrate, and I'm not always convinced I'm a professional. So today, I will celebrate the alternative... World Book and Copyright Day.

I thought about how I would celebrate this day and what this day should mean to me as a reader and a self-proclaimed writer. Would I read a book? Visit a bookstore? Plagiarize someone's work?
At the coffee shop this morning I asked the folks around me if they knew of a good book. I got several recommendations. Even more surprising to me though, were the number of people who couldn't tell me what they were reading right now because they were not reading a book at the moment. Worse yet, some could not tell me the name of a good book.

So I got to thinking that perhaps I would look at World Book and Copyright Day as a chance to shut off the TV, open a good book and read. I might then use this blog as an opportunity to write about that book and what I thought of it - respecting of course the copyrights...

OOH.... American Idol is starting......

Earth Day...

No way! Wasn't it just Earth Day? And if it really has been a year, where did mine go? I'm sure last year I promised to look after my self, my mother, and my earth. I haven't done any of it. So I was sitting in a coffee shop, drinking my second coffee from a disposable coffee cup, and I had a wave of guilt. (Maybe a bit of Scot's cheapness.... Starbucks was giving free coffee if you brought your own cup).

And a moment of question. Why is earth day only one day a year? Why do we focus on the planet for 24 hours and then carry on? What about International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Why is it only ok to talk this way for one day? What other days are there that are important enough to get a day, but not important enough to just be? What about the stuff that's important enough to get a month, or critical enough to get a year? So... I'm creating a list of all the days, the months and the years.

I wonder if they'll have any impact on me or on the people around me. Will anybody know what day it is?